One of my favorite exhibitions/contests/sales every year is sponsored by First National Bank in Columbia, MO. It occurs during the Columbia Festival of the Arts every Fall. I think it is so important to me personally because when I won first place in the Non-Professional division the first year I entered, it really gave me the motivation and encouragement I needed to find my way back to photography. The process I go through every year in selecting my images for entry gives me valuable insight into my progress as an artist. The first year I entered, I printed out 5 or 6 8×10’s on my home printer and hung them up in our home daycare-asking our clients to help me choose which ones to enter. (You can enter up to 2 images) They chose a different image than the one I would have picked but I went with their decision…and it won! So every year, I select 6 images from the past year and get as many people as I can to vote on their 2 favorites.
One great thing about the Visions contest is their ability to find quality judges every year. This year was no exception. I found this year’s judge, Gloria Baker-Feinstein, particularly impressive. If you have some time to sit with a cup of tea or coffee, visit her site. I found her words on the “convergence” gallery to be particularly moving. They really explain how I feel about photography and that moment when I stop time.
I am very pleased to announce that my entry titled, “The Birthday Tree” was awarded 2nd place in the Professional Division.
This entry is pretty special to me. It was taken using my toy camera, a Diana, and it shows the tree in our front yard. We tie ribbons to it to celebrate the birthdays of our family. I remember the morning I took it–It was my birthday, early February. It was cold and the light was coming through just perfectly. I thought it would translate well into black and white so I loaded my Diana up with actual black and white film and took one shot of it. When I finally processed the roll of film, most of it wasn’t any good….but this first shot took my breath away. Enjoy!
Congratulations, Stacie!! I’ve been meaning to drop you an email telling you how much your photo makes me smile each time I walk past it in the bank. So excited to see that you won! Awesome, awesome job, as usual.